Last week I did some research on spaying kittens. Early in 2008 some 'nice' person dumped 3 young kittens (weaned) in my area and they found their way to our home. My son and I took pity on the poor babies and fed them. They were terrified and only came out of hiding to eat once we disappeared out of sight. Over the next few months we managed to tame one male enough that he would let us stroke him and gradually he became more friendly. However the other two, a female and a male, remained hard to tame. The female wasn't a snarly mean cat, but the male was, and still is.
During those first few months the quieter of the two males hurt a back paw, cutting right through the pad in two places. I caught him, took him to the local vet where my dog Shaye goes, and $430 later he was stitched up and minus a couple of bits. So of course he was a genuine member of our family even though he was then, and still is, a cat that will show affection only when he wants to and mostly only with me. He doesn't like being handled other than to be stroked.
The female ended up dropping a litter late last year and she eventually brought the 3 kittens to where she thought they would be safe - under the decking. We saw them once they were old enough to venture out. When I realised they were well on the way to being weaned - we were now feeding 3 adult cats and 3 kittens - I decided I had to make sure there wouldn't be more kittens. I caught Mum and took her to the vet and $140 later she was home with a large chunk of hair gone from her left side. Amazingly that's where the small incision was and because she was so frightened of being handled the vet had used dissolving stitches to save her being traumatised any further.
Now I have the 3 kittens to have spayed. I can't just dump them and I can't take them to the RSPCA or the vet to try and adopt them because thier mother loves them so much and they love each other, or so it appears to me anyhow. That's why I was looking for information on the age that is correct for having kittens spayed. It appears that anytime after 7 weeks is acceptable. Only one of the kittens is now tame enough to stroke and pick up. The other two are frightened and Shaye and my son's lab Lizzie don't help by barking at them and tormenting them. The dogs can't get near them unless they go into the section of yard where the dogs are. The cats live in their own oasis, in the pool area where there's a lot of garden to lie around in and places to get out of the heat and rain.
The male cat that is feral only comes around for food and has never not hissed at us when we go outside to feed them. I am hoping that once he realises that the female (who obviously must be his sister) is no longer 'hot to trot' that he might just pack up his gear and move on. It hasn't happened yet and so I'm concerned to have the kittens fixed before he perhaps chooses the female kitten as his next victim. We believe he is the father of the kittens.
I was also looking for information on Shaye's skin condition so the website came in handy for both bits of research. I found some very good information and also forums where you can post your stories about your pets or questions. Within less than an hour after posting a few forum questions I was receiving advice by email that there were replies for me at the forums.
So, if you have pets you adore and you just want to share some stories about them, or if like me you have problems and you are looking for options and advice, I recommend this as a really great little website to visit. So go have a look at www.fabulousfelinesandfidos.yuku.com.
You can join the group and start your own little page of information about your pets and post photos there etc.
I hope that some of you will take a look and gain the pleasure I did from my visit. I am now a member.
Vena McGrath
